From the usual suspects like Pike Place Market to more "of the now" spots like the cool Capitol Hill neighborhood and the Gauguin exhibit at the Seattle Art Museum, I got a nice pulse on the city beyond its grey skies and flannel (it's not cliche, folks).
One of my favorite things about Seattle was also the simplest -- mornings began at the nearby Caffe Fiore, and it was pretty much perfect. Latte, a breakfast sweet, good reading material and awesome music by the likes of Feist and Pink Floyd. A drizzle would come and fade through the picture window that fronted the street. It was cozy.
When it was my turn to order on one of my first mornings, the laid-back guy behind the counter began with, "Sooo, what are you up to, today?" It was pretty chill, just like that, as if we had been friends since college and he genuinely wanted to know where my day would take me after Fiore.
Living in L.A. where strangers don't always ask personal questions AND seem to mean it, I was taken off guard. Some say people in Seattle can be standoffish in a way that's called "The Seattle Chill," but I didn't feel so.
By my fourth morning at Fiore, I had nestled quite well into the "So, What are you up to today?" mentality. Now, how to import to L.A?
* Keeping it chill at Caffe Fiore
